oproleplayingfandomcom-20200214-history
Flight of the Flowers
---- Fallen Knight Far out at the open sea of the North Blue, a small sailing boat barely big enough to carry its sailor with a single mass ant sail sailing towards a large island known as Flower Kingdom. An island that has been plunged into civil war for seven years lead by two brothers fighting each other for the seat of the throne. On board of that sailing ship is a tall man with long dark red hair with a match dark red outfit and cape resting on the boat staring off into the sky with a grin on his face, his feet which reached all the way to the from of the boat rested them on the bow of the boat. As the ship grew closer to the island the man stood up and looked towards the island, his cape flowing with the passing breeze. It wasn't too long until the ship reached the shores of the island. The man hopped off the boat onto a sandy beach before turning around to pull his boat up onto the shore so it wouldn't be drifted away by the tides. Once he made sure it was well put he made his way on the island. He looked around and saw the tropical greenery of landscape turned pale from the longings of war, blood stains everywhere he looked and near by builds that have long been abandoned and warn out. "Now then where to next?" He asked himself. Just then he heard a large explosion from the countless fighting that drew his attention to the right of him and saw smoke rising from afar. "So over there then." He said to himself, before he began walking towards the sounds of explosions can battle cries. ---- They're catching up too fast... Sera Phim thought to herself as she reached the ground, her pair of snow white wings smoking after intercepting a cannon ball that was about to slam into a short column of refugees. They had lost, their lord dead, and his younger brother not keen on offering mercy to those who had followed the rightful king of the land. 200 people in all, her last charge from her lord to see them reach the port to flee. Farmers, smiths, and others like them. A few soldiers here and there, protecting them with her as the remainder of her lord's cadre died to make sure this group and other refugees like them weren't consigned to death just because the marines had decided to back the pretender to the throne. Hopeless eyes stared at her tired visage, the morale of all her lord's people gone with his death. Her eyes locked upon a mirror, sticking out of one of the carts on this muddy trail, what was once a road before years of fighting took their toll. A short blonde woman, her once shining armor rusted red. A sin, but one she no longer had the luxury of caring about. The bags under her eyes were apparent, having long since gone bloodshot. The exhaustion was palpable on her face, as she had been fighting for the better part of the last three days, each encounter sapping a little bit more of her strength. She was a knight who had been pushed to her limits, and even beyond them, that much was clear. Her gazed lingered on the mirror, for just a moment. Her vision then swept the column, two hundred and seven souls, all her direct responsibility. Her last duty, given by her lord shortly before the marines stormed his keep. These two hundred and seven souls were all she had left. Her lord and master was dead, her name tarnished, and her fellow knights scattered to the wind. Some like her, and her best friend Valerie, had been put in charge of some refugees, others had stayed behind, dying to give others a chance to live. It was a duty she would not fail at. But even with her conviction, the people under her charge needed more time. "SERGEANT, GET OVER HERE!" She shouted at a portly man, who looked nearly as tired as she did. He quickly scrambled over to her before responding, "Yes Lady Phim, what's going on." with a concerned look. "I'll put it simply," She said as she took her sword off her hip. "We are not going to make it before our persuers catch up. Not at this rate." She continued, the exhaustion in her voice apparent. "You are going to make sure they get out, even if it costs you your life. Do you understand me?" She said as she handed the older man her weapon, her symbol of office. His eyes widened as he saw what she was doing. "You're not going to fight are you? We need you here, my lady. We'll never make it without you." "No you won't. Not with the pretender on our heels. Therefore I shall make sure they can not give chase, even if it means I will never walk out of this valley." She said in a grim tone. She had resolved herself to do something every knight may end up facing. Sacrifice. "I'll give you and the refugees a chance. That's all I can do." she finished before adding on. "If you see Valerie, tell her I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. Give her my sword, she'll understand." Then she looked the man dead in the eye. "Get out of here Sergeant, consider that my last order. God speed to you all..." She heard the man run back to the column, urging everyone to move faster. She was exhausted, and no telling how long Sera would be able to hold their pursuers at bay. Her armor went clank as her pauldrons hit the ground, discarded after she slashed the straps that held them to her shoulders, shortly after followed by her breastplate, along with both her Cuisses and vambraces. All she had left of her protective shell was her armored boots, complete with shin guards. All her excess weight was discarded, as it was no longer the time to block. Her chest was unarmored, covered only a thin white sheet, tied up around her neck and down on her waist. So she waited, wings wrapping her weary body like a cloak, as white as fresh snow in the winter. So she waited, as her hour of reckoning beckoned her onward. She stood there as the first couple of soldiers, both marines and soldiers of her lord's enemy, came over the hill. They stopped for a moment, seeing her stand there, waiting for them. They stopped for too long, as one of her wings stretched out to launch numerous feathers towards the stationary soldiers, who crumpled as the feathers pierced through them, each hard as steel. Her wing quickly returned to its position, protecting her body until the next wave. The next set was more cautious, as they had realized what had happened to their comrades. They simply quickly popped their heads and weapons over the hill, taking pot shots at her whenever they could. Sera was forced to fold her wings around her tighter, relying on them to protect her from the hail of bullets, though after a few minutes even this stopped. Sera's heart dropped as she heard the rasp of a large blade being unsheathed. "They had to have a knight with them..." She said to herself as her wings flung open to their full glory, spreading for at least ten feet to either side of her. Then her blood ran cold as she finally caught sight of her new challenger. The large man in front of her, towering over her by an easy three feet, was one she knew very well. "I see Prince Redrick must really want me dead if they sent you after me, Sir Arthur. I'm honored." She said to him with the slightest hint of sarcasm. Her stance had dropped, as she readied herself for a fight, her last fight. Sir Arthur was a senior knight, and one of the stronger ones at that. "Unfortunately Lady Phim, I'm not here for you alone. I am just here following orders to not let the..." his voice struggled a bit with his next word, "traitors escape. So I implore you. Surrender, beg the king to spare your life. He will see reason, you do not need to die here. You can still have a future." he finished, trying to give Sera another chance. "I swore an oath Sir Arthur, you know I can't." Sera responded in a dejected voice. "I swore upon my life to see my final duty fulfilled. I owe it to my lord to see it to the end. He was too good to me for anything less." Her eyes turned away for just a moment, before focusing directly on the man in front of her. "A pity, it didn't have to end this way. After all, I too, have my duty." was his only response as he brought his sword up into a high guard. Sera had no hesitation, no exhaustion in her step as she moved. She ran at the larger man, lowering her level to near the ground, to slip well under his high guard. Against any green soldier, having to switch his guard would open them up for her attack, but her opponent was far from green. Arthur sliced his sword towards Sera, who quickly shifted to the side as she spun on her right foot. One of her wings slithered down her back, wrapping her left foot with steel feathers. "Downy Short Sword!" Sera shouted as her left leg slipped under the larger man's arm, striking him squarely in the side with a resounding crack from steel slamming onto steel. Her spirits lifted for a moment as her opponent rocked back in reaction to her blow, then quickly fell again as his hand clamped around her ankle. "This is why you wear your armor, Sera." Arthur growled at her as he lifted her ankle, pulling the much smaller woman into the air, pulling her over his head before slamming her back into the ground with all of his strength. The air hissing out of her mouth was audible as the impact pushed it out of her body before she rebound a bit, raising off the ground slightly in recoil from the impact. She saw the sword plummet, aiming to pierce her heart, both hands on the hilt as it plunged downwards. But her wings saved her. One pushing the ground below, the other the blade above. They worked in concert to move her to the side, just enough that the blade breezed past her by less than an inch before it pierced the ground. She contorted her body, bringing her foot up to the blade, now embedded into the ground. She placed her foot on it, pushing with all her might to create some distance, to reset her stance. She flew easily twenty feet from her fellow knight before her hands hit the ground, where she used them to spring herself upright to face her opponent again. An opponent who was much closer than she had expected. Arthur stood mere feet in front of her, his blade dragging through the ground, arcing upwards to slice her from hip to shoulder in a single cut. Sera quickly wrapped her wings around her arms, drawing them in front of her like a shield. The blade's impact felt like a mountain had rammed into her chest, as her guard broke like so much tissue paper. The impact sent her careening back, crashing into the ground before she started rolling backwards. She pushed off the ground as she had before, reorienting herself again right before she would have crashed into a fence. She took a brief moment to get a bearing on her surroundings, where she saw numerous marines and soldiers attempting to bypass her while she was occupied. Her wings sprung into motion once more, flapping out to their full breadth as she unleashed another wave of razor sharp feathers. They arced out, seeking those who would harm her charges. She never had time to see if they landed however. "WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING SERA!" Arthur shouted as he ran through the fence that separated them as if it wasn't even there. His right fist arced up into her stomach, driving the breath from her again, as flecks of blood escaped her lips from the impact. It drove her up even higher into the air, right as the his left fist came down, slamming into her back. She hit the ground full force again, as the third part of her penance for getting distracted slammed into her stomach. Arthur had drawn his leg back before slamming the armored boot with all his might behind it into her gut. Sera wheezed, her abused lungs long since empty. Her vision flashed red for a moment from the impact as she was sent hurtling away from him. She bounced several times before coming to a halt on the hillside of the valley. Sera sucked in air as fast as she could, trying to regain some of the breath that was stolen from her as she heard Arthur's steps approaching her, sloshing in the mud. The winded knight unsteadily rose to her feet, slowing lifting herself off the ground. "Should have known I couldn't win at this level." She croaked out at him. "But I can go a bit faster." Sera moved, repeating her previous charge as the knight prepared his stance for her attack. From her back, a second pair of wings formed, as resplendent as the first pair. Then with a step, she moved on a completely different plane. Her movements, which up til now had been nothing but insufficient, exploded to match the man before her's. As before, the sword swung down, aiming to slice her in half. Sarah shifted to the side she brought her right foot up, kicking off from the large sword's side. She spun around as she did so, driving the wing coated heel of her left leg straight into the side of Arthur's face, shouting "Downy Great Axe!". The large man grunted as the blow rocked him around, causing him to stumble several steps back. Sera landed lightly on her feet, facing Sir Arthur. He didn't stay still for even a moment, not giving her a chance to press her advantage. His sword left a furrow on the ground as he dragged it towards her at full speed, bringing it up to her from her left. Her response was just to continue her spin, the toe of her wing clad foot taking his sword head on. A blow she previously couldn't even slow down was stopped cold, a gust of wind pouring off of the clash. Even with her enhanced physical power, Arthur was still slightly stronger than her though. She slowly lost ground as he pushed on, despite pouring all of her strength. By the time she finally pushed away from the blade, jumping back a good ten to fifteen feet, she was breathing heavily. The extra wings quickly burns through her stamina, and she was tired to begin with. "I remember you having stamina problems, but I didn't expect them to be this bad." Arthur commented on Sera's exasperated breathing. He paused for a moment to adjust himself before rushing back in. The key to fighting someone who doesn't have the endurance was simply to keep them fighting. Don't give them any time to rest, it was a principle Arthur was very aware of. "I haven't exactly had much rest, now have I?" Sera grunted as she blocked his next swing, a horizontal slash across her chest, with all four of her wings. Her wings wrapped the larger man's blade, immobilizing it for a moment. She slipped under the trapped blade to strike her opponent straight in the gut with the sole of her armored foot, pushing him and his blade away from her, while exclaiming "Downy Broadsword!" Sera continued her assault, pushing the older knight back with a relentless series of blows, alternating between slashing at him with her wings and attempting to land further kicks. But Arthur played just as well on defense as offence, each and every one of her blows being stopped by his heavy armor or swift sword. However, he could keep this pace up far longer than she could, and Arthur knew this all too well. Each blow was duller, slower, lighter than the last. I can't last much longer... Sera thought to herself as her weary body was pushed to it's limit, All or nothing, that's all i got left... With her next blow she didn't aim to harm him, the clash of her foot on blade instead pushed her away from the other man, giving her the distance to prepare one final strike. A strike with every ounce of energy she had left. She lowered herself to near the ground again, as one final wing flourished from her back, for five in total. Five times her body's base power, she just had to hope it was enough. "Trying to drag even more out of yourself, Sera? You can't keep it up, not for long." Arthur questioned her as he brought up his sword once more. "I don't need long, Sir. One way or another, I'll end this in a single strike." Sera growled through her teeth. Her body was on fire, her stomach felt like there was a hole through it, and she could barely see the ground in front of her. But she had the power for this. She moved like a woman possessed, no grace left in her steps. She ran at the larger man with all the speed she could muster, all five of her wings wrapping around her right leg. Just before they clashed, she jumped at the knight in front of her, bringing her right leg straight at his chest. Her leg ignited in golden flames, leaving trails of holy fire in the wake of her scorching kick. "BURNING GREAT SPEAR," She shouted, right before she noticed the sword about to pierce right through her side. Arthur hadn't stood still during her charge, he braced himself. When she jumped, he took advantage of her temporary inability to dodge. He stepped into and to the side of her charge, though it was not enough to dodge it fully. The spear of burning flame hit him on the edge of his armor, slicing through it cleanly as it tore a trench through his side before the flames scorched the ground behind him, leaving a smoking crater. An audible grunt of pain could be heard from the veteran knight as the hole in his side opened up. But his blade struck true as well, stabbing straight into the smaller woman's side before coming out her back. The pain was indescribable, as the sword pierced straight through her kidney, before flowing out her back. The blade's guard ended up stopping her momentum cold, as her wings began to fade away into golden light and blood spilled from her mouth. Sera slumped, laying across the pauldron of the man in front of her, held aloft by the sword stabbed through her. Blood spilled from the wound, staining the cloth over her chest red. Sir Arthur placed his hand upon her chest, before giving her a push off of his blade. Sera dropped unceremoniously onto the ground, facing up towards her victorious opponent. She watched as he re-sheathed his sword, before drawing out a small flintlock pistol. "You fought valiantly, young knight. But there was only one way this was going to end. Do you have any final words or requests?" he lectured over her defeated body. Sera barely made a sound as she dragged the answer out of her rapidly fading strength. "Just one... Leave the civilians alone... They haven't done anything... Swear to me, that you won't harm them... That is my final request..." "I, Sir Arthur Clarent, hereby swear upon my name and my sacred honor, that I shall not touch a single civilian among the caravan you were protecting, you have my word Lady Phim." "Thank you." She stated softly with a slight smile. She closed her eyes as she heard the cocking of the pistol, waiting for oblivion. An oblivion that never came. The sound of the pistol being fired echoed through her ears as the bullet flew straight after. when at the exact same time a slight breeze suddenly flew by her and the bullet that was supposed to struck Sera never reached her. "A glorious battle. I have been watching for some time now and i have seen you fought with great pride and determination in order to protect those you care for even at the cost of your own life. I am truly moved by your valiant effort." A voice said out of no where. It was then revealed that it was the man who just washed onto shore moments ago standing before her facing Arthur with a shield on his arm with a bullet hole in it. "and because of that i cant allow you to die here just yet." The bullet hole on his shield appeared to be the bullet Arthur had just fired that he blocked in order to protect her, but something was off about the shield he held. It appeared to be a tan colored shield in a circular shape. The edge of it didn't appear to be smooth at all like how its normally made but instead seems to be rough much like ground. "Well Ms. Phim, it appears you have a guardian angel today." Arthur said to the fallen knight with no hint of humor in his voice. "Now who might you be? It is considered an insult to interfere with a proper duel." He continued as he turned to face the newcomer in his entirety. "What interest do you have in saving this fallen knight. She's a..." he paused for a moment before continuing, "Traitor to the realm. The price for betrayal is death. Now what say you?" The man stood there calmly. He dropped the strange looking shield on the ground and crossed his arms, resting them on his chest. "Heh, traitor to the realm." He mocked. "Your so called laws mean nothing to a man like me. I see someone trying to save innocent lives while you hunt them down, I don't know, that just doesn't sound right to me." He said calmly, maintaining his posture. He then shifted his eyes to the side without moving his head and noticed a bunch of solders all moving swiftly in various hiding spots such as boulders, burnt up trees and abandoned old buildings, all moving from one spot to the next attempting to get passed him and head towards the group of civilians. "As for who i am. Well, carve this name into the very core of your soul, never to forget it." He bent down and placed the palm of one hand onto the ground. As his hand was on the ground. It began to vibrate a little, enough so that the pebbles were flopping off the ground like a fish on land. As it continued the vibrations grew larger and heavier until the shaking became a large quake. As it shook, the ground suddenly began to slowly rise upwards like a geyser of water beside him. It flowed like a cloud while still maintaining its dry soil. The geyser of mud like ground then spun as it retracted back down and when it reached all the way it caused a ripple in the ground that reached a wide area, further then of the solders were. All the ground within that ripple of a circle became mud making all the solid objects standing on top of it to sink into the mud like ground. All the rocks, trees and houses, even the solders that were already in leg length deep was slowly being swallowed up by the ground. Then, just as when it couldn't get worse, the mud like ground started to move in a spinning rotation taking every solid material that was sinking down with it. The spinning the solders tried to fight against it but was unable to free their legs and prove helpless against the rushing current. As the solders were being spun around they were also sinking faster as they were being pulled in. The man has created a ginormous whirlpool of solid ground with him at the center of it. "I. Am. KING PIN!" He called out over the screams of the soldiers. The only one unaffected by this was Sera who remained on solid ground. Arthur stood unperturbed by the carnage surrounding him. He stood directly over Sera as the ground around turned to quagmire. It became a simple game with this. Either the earthen man in front of him left him alone, or killed the woman that he was seeming to protect to get at him with his wide ranging attack. As the attack settled, the land around was permanently changed, warped beyond recognition, just like the country beyond. Arthur simply smiled at the new arrival's declaration. Sera had barely retained consciousness during the exchange, only truly understanding Arthur's guardian angel comment. Her side was on fire and she could feel her life slowly ebbing away through the gaping wound in it. She felt the world move, as yet again she prepared herself to face the end. An end that yet again did not come. She opened her eyes as the ground settled, turning her head towards the man making his declaration. Her guardian angel, even if he may be no saint. Then she truly understood what he had done when she looked beyond him, noticing the soldiers stopped in their tracks. He was no knight, yet he finished her duty for her, all the while protecting her. A tear streamed down her face as her facade finally crumbled. While she no longer had the strength to speak, she silently mouthed the words Thank You, to the large man at the center of this all. "Well Sir King, that was a most impressive display. Also one that makes my conscious that much easier to follow now that the rest of the soldiers are distracted." Arthur responded as he noticed Sera's reaction. He then faltered for a moment as a bloody spittle erupted from his lips. "Not to mention I've already had a number done to me." "I'll do you and this young woman here a favor, since you seem so keen on saving her." he said before pausing a moment, "I'm in no shape to beat you anyways. All you have to do is survive, survive and never come back. There is nothing here for her anymore. There never will be." He pulled his blade before simply saying, "Catch." Arthur rocked his left leg back before slamming it into Sera, right into her wound. A wordless scream elicited itself from her lips due to the pain as she was launched directly at King. His sword was drawn up and behind his head as his leg came down. He brought it down as his foot touched ground with all his might. The sky around it seemed to deform in the wake of the blade's passage, as a silver glow coalesced down it's length. A wave of force leapt from the blade, nearly as tall as Arthur himself was. The flying slash crumbled the ground in front of it, reaching out to bite through Sera and into King behind her. A final slash meant to kill both, at least if they weren't worthy to survive. "Ah! Bastard!" King Pin cried out in a furious rage after witnessing this man ruthlessly attacking this defenseless girl at charged forward. He took about two steps forward before stopping to catching Sera in his arms. He rested her head on his left while holding her legs up on his right arm. He glanced over at Arthur with a glaring look and witnessed his attempt to attack. Without hesitation, he rose his foot up, but Arthur managed unleashed his attack just before he could unleash his. As the flying slash came soaring directly towards him, King Pin slammed his foot onto the ground causing a ripple on the ground before him. The ground rose up to form a large column of mud like ground and shot towards Arthur while it solidified into solid concrete as it rose up, the solidification happening just as the mud like ground was righting out, making the end of the column covered in spikes. It charged towards Arthur like an off the track train. As it charged towards Arthur, it intercepted his flying slash which resulted in the slash cutting straight down the middle of the column as it kept charging forward. When it eventually got to Arthur, the now split column was now unable to hit Arthur as the cut had spread wide enough for Arthur to simply stand between the two halves of the column he had split. If he had not used his slash attack, Arthur could have been impaled by the column. "Good enough." Arthur said simply as the force of his slash had been dissipated by the large pillar of mud. He'd like to think the man had summoned it just to protect himself, but stopping that attack wasn't that easy either way. As the pillar continued it's path, he leapt backwards with it, seeming to have been carried away to any of those who looked at the conflict from the side. Sera laid limp in the arms of her savior, gravely wounded from the previous fight, any healing that her body may have naturally done on her side undone by Arhtur's kick. She was still conscious, but was no longer strong enough to do any action, even keep her head up as the blood loss took it's toll on her. She simply rested in the arms of her guardian angel, a man of earth and mud who had protected her and her charges for her. All in all she felt two things. Shame at needing to be protected like this, and gratitude for the one who did it. Both in equal measure. As her consciousness faded, she could only wonder what the future held for her, now that her old world was lost to her for good. With the wall serving as his type of a smoke screen, Arthur was unable to see King Pin flee the scene until he was long gone. As he was far away from the battle scene they were at, King Pin placed his hand onto Sera's stomach. He then released his ground like substance from his forearm that wrapped around her stomach tightly, covering the wounds like a bandage. "Hm seems like I'm no longer wanted anymore, guess now we just need to get out of here." He mumbled to himself. He stood up looking at the battlefield that was now far off into the distance, barely able to be seen from where he was. On the Run Dmitri checked over his rifle one more time, making sure things on the thing were perfect, even though he knew they already were despite all the mud and blood strewn across the country. His unit had gotten a call about a man and a woman, remnants of the rebel faction who had until recently opposed the king, who had smashed through another unit of soldiers and were currently fleeing towards the sea. He and his fellow marines had been tasked to stop them, at any cost. A number of their comrades had been killed by the two, and Marines avenged their own. He was currently sitting atop an outcropping of rock, overlooking a valley of trampled flowers and mud, the best path along which the pair could travel to reach the ocean. His trusty rifle lay in his hands, ready and waiting as he surveyed the surroundings from his lofty vantage point. Surrounding the valley on both sides were his fellow marines, lying in wait to take the fugitives down, to avenge their fallen comrades. He watched as the pair travel, the woman looking small as she was carried in the giant's arms. The reports had said that both were active, but it didn't matter. Dmitri held his breath, waiting for the perfect moment to release a shot, aiming to take out the large man before he even knew they were there. All was still for a moment, followed by a loud bang, as the rifle kicked a round down range. For most of the way the shot range true, arcing towards the big man, until a large gust of wind swept across the valley, knocking the bullet slightly off target, as it whizzed mere inches from King's head, followed shortly by the sound of the shot. "Fuck..." was all Dmitri had to say as the soldiers around him whipped themselves into motion. A wall of earth appeared between Dmitri and the man, obscuring the pair from view. Easily a few hundred feet wide, it proved to be an effective deterrent to the sniper's shot. Without fire support from the other side, the marines across the valley from him would likely be slaughtered by the devil fruit user. He pulled out a Den Den Mushi to the local headquarters, and proceeded to call for support. In particular, he called for artillery. Slightly more than a minute later, the wall of earth in front of him started coming apart under the barrage. The artillery had arrived, smashing through the wall in a hail of fire and steel. But by the time that the wall came down, the other side was eerily quiet. The marines on the other side had all already been felled, and the large man was gone. In that minute, the entire plan had come apart and so many more had died. All because of one missed shot... ---- Sera clawed her way back to consciousness, laying in the dirt with her side in agony. She didn't see her savior anymore, King having been separated from her. In his place she saw someone tending to her side as she lay beneath the remains of a dogwood tree. "So you're finally awake? Sera, what have you gotten yourself into this time." The man treating her wounds teased her. "Is this some kind of bad joke Morgan? You do not remember us being enemies?" Sera chuckled into what quickly became a hiss of pain. "War's over my sweet, I'm getting you ready to leave." Morgan responded, the young red headed man having uncaked the earth holding her side together while dressing the wounds properly. "Not all of us agree with the King, and not all of us are Death before Dishonor." Morgan was a longtime friend of her's just as their parents were, even if they had winded up on the opposite sides of the nasty civil war. If their fathers had had their way, they'd likely even be engaged by now. But those plans had been made a lifetime ago. "Dad did a number on you, didn't he?" Morgan continued as he patched up her injury. "He almost killed me," Sera grunted back. "He should have killed me... He let me go..." she fell off as she realized what exactly happened. "Just like he sent me here to make sure you got out. Dad doesn't agree with what's going on, even as he's honor bound to follow the king's orders. That's why I'm here to make sure that at least something of this country's heart and soul survives. Even if it's half dead in the process." He continued as he finished patching her up. "So what, you are going to carry me off into the sunset like some starstruck damsel?" She responded sarcastically. "If by the sunset you mean the port, yes. I'll get you on a boat and then show back up on my side's battle lines. Beyond that I can't promise anything." He replied with a grin. "I just want you to promise me something in return." "What would that be?" "Don't die." "...I won't." Sera responded with a hint of embarrassment. "Now that's the spirit." Morgan continued with a cheeky grin upon his face. He picked Sera up in his arm, not as large as her previous savior, but far more caring than him. "After all, we both make it through this... Who knows, maybe someday we can pick up where we left off." ---- The docks were chaos, people barging onto what ships were available. Not that many were left. But one in particular caught Morgan's eye, a large ship that looked like a floating library. A large crowd gathered in front of it, ruffians and scoundrels looking to bully their way aboard. Morgan just smiled. This might be their lucky chance.